Bill Dod

An APC, allegedly captured by self-defense forces from Ukrainian troops, was set ablaze in the center of Mariupol in the aftermath of Friday’s bloody clashes. The Ukrainian National Guard has announced it will temporarily withdraw from the city center.

Russia’s secret service confirmed that notorious terrorist Doku Umarov has been eliminated in the first quarter of 2014. Dozens of terrorists met their deaths in the North Caucasus, hundreds of militants and their supporters were detained.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, two presidential aides and two members of the Crimean administration are among the 12 Russian officials who were added to the European Union’s black list on Friday.

A tense ceasefire was announced in Kiev on the fifth day of violence, with radical protesters and riot police holding their position. Opposition leaders are negotiating with the government, but doubts remain that they will be able to stop the rioters.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that ‘the really hard work begins on Friday’ with regard to reaching a diplomatic solution in Syria. “Nobody underestimates the difficulty of this issue,” he announced on the first day of peace talks in Switzerland.

Riot police brutally dispersed protesters from central Kiev in the largest operation since the latest outbreak of violence. Almost 200 officers have been injured over four days of scuffles. Two people were reportedly killed amid the crisis.

Ukrainian police have used tear gas and stun grenades after pro-EU protesters began throwing Molotov cocktails at officers. The clashes followed violence at the protests in the country’s capital, Kiev, on the previous day.